CHAPTER XIX: CYNOSURE

"Welcome back?" Shalltear states sarcastically as we tumble out of a gate on the ceiling onto our shared bedding. Most of my focus is on Aura's relentless show of affection as she pins me to the bedding and prevents me from using my mouth for other purposes. I'm still able to respond mentally through Shalltear's ring, "Sorry for dropping in uninvited-"

"You seem occupied," Shalltear replies sarcastically, pretending not to care but watching us nevertheless. I glance over to see her lounging in her comfortable chair with a tilted head and an equally crooked smile but my head is quickly angled back by Aura's hand. She sits on my crotch and starts stripping clothes off us in a growing frenzy of emotions, giving me a brief moment to say aloud, "I'm multitasking."

Aura throws some of the clothing she's taking off at my face playfully but I catch the items mid-flight and toss each of them aside without aiming. Her expression is manic and her plain intentions are intimidating with the promise of great comfort but also the promise of great pain. I keep my eyes on her while Shalltear chuckles from her seat and says with amusement, "You brought this on yourself."

"I-," is all I can say before Aura pulls me upright, sitting in my lap facing me and wrapping herself around me completely. Her kisses feel like she's trying to suck the breath out of my lungs then I have to stop her with my right hand on her forehead when she succeeds in nearly choking me. Shalltear comments as I gasp for air, "Don't pass out. She'll keep going even if you go unconscious and you'll wake up in a far worse condition."

My right hand on Aura's forehead glows magenta through the carved channels of magic on my skin, the magic travelling along my arm to my chest and burning the flesh it touches. I have little time to react because whatever is happening snaps Aura out of her frenzy. She quickly moves my right arm in front of us and wraps a patterned cloth around the arm and hand completely. The pain subsides and the glow fades as soon as it arrives. I close and open my fingers a few times while Aura says, "That should keep your arm dormant for now."

"Thanks," I gasp while rubbing the wrappings on my right arm, feeling the scales and flesh underneath still sting to the touch. Before I can consider what just happened, I tense slightly when another pair of arms rub against my shoulders. Cold flesh presses against my back and rubs my chest as Shalltear kisses my left cheek lightly. Her tone doesn't match her actions as she whispers to me, "I was so scared that you would deny Aura in the end after everything you've already done... it scared me that she would hate me more than she already does... so thank you... thank you for affirming my trust in you..."

Aura's expression softens and loses its fervour entirely. She moves off of me awkwardly and shimmies herself across the bed but as she passes, she turns me with her right arm so that we're all facing each other. Her left arm moves to hug Shalltear while her other arm brings me closer to both of them. Her subtle hint is enough of a cue for me to move my arms around them as they embrace each other. Silent tears fall but for once, it's more out of relief than sorrow. However, I whisper gently to them both, "Stop fighting. Stop comparing yourselves to each other. Stop thinking that you don't deserve what you have or receive. And above all, stop using me as a justification for your actions."

Their sudden silence and stiffening postures tell me that they're surprised by my demands but they're at least listening. Retaliation came swiftly, Shalltear releasing me so Aura could tackle me onto my back with her body. Aura places her weight on top of me and folds her arms on my chest as Shalltear slides across the bedding to lie on my right side. Once Aura is sure she has my attention, she whispers sternly, "And what makes you think you can make such demands of me?"

"Fiance, remember? I do have some say in what goes on now," I reply, Aura frowning without meaning to before smiling and snorting in amusement. My head is gently turned to the right so that Shalltear can kiss me enthusiastically, her actions undetected up until now and catching me completely off guard. It feels like part of my mind is being siphoned away and once she releases me, I'm left bewildered and disoriented. Aura takes advantage of my state by doing the same and in a moment of further weakness, my mind tries to wander away completely from reasoning and back into the bliss of euphoria. My hands are already on Aura's back by the time my mind catches up to my body and I quickly piece together what they want to do next. I whisper to both of them with growing unease, "Let's not get ahead of ourselves-"

"Why? You've done things to both of us already," Aura replies, her tone offering no argument as she goes upright again and slides my hands onto her hips. I try to comment anyways but am quickly cut off when Aura whispers, "You made me like this so-"

"-take responsibility. Shalltear uses that on me too... and it always works..." I cut in gently as the urge to resist breaks finally. My hands gently guide her body towards what she wants and I can see that she's trying to fight her nature of taking the lead and forcing me forward. Something pierces my right shoulder as I connect to Aura, the combination of pleasure and pain forcing me to close my eyes for a second. Aura, for her part, relaxes all of her muscles and lets out a pent-up breath. I inhale and exhale deeply before slightly turning my head to the left, but cold hands gently guide my head back the other way. I try to resist being moved out of impulse because of the pain but my head is gently turned to the right. I see what's coming right before Shalltear kisses me with a mouth half full of my blood. I gag slightly from the taste and once she releases me, I cough lightly and whisper, "I thought you said you wouldn't do that."

Shalltear replies with a wicked smile, emphasizing her point with further kisses. I gag again from the taste but suddenly, a warmer set of hands grabs my shoulders and brings me upright. The new wound on my right shoulder stings from direct contact but the wound closes on its own quickly enough for two sets of arms to encircle my torso in unison. Because their arms are spaced out evenly, there's only a feeling of warmth instead of the clashing cold and hot I'm expecting. Aura gives me a timid kiss, another unexpected turn, before whispering to me while hugging me tighter, "I was scared too... of denial, of scorn... of everything falling apart because of me... even if so much of what happened wasn't my fault... but so much has already fallen apart... and I don't know how to handle all of this..."

"You still don't get it," I reply while hugging her. Shalltear moves her arm out from between us so that it doesn't get caught but manoeuvres her arms so that she's hugging me around the shoulders. Aura seems relieved but Shalltear seems angry because she's gripping too tightly. I try to keep things moving by explaining quietly, "You don't have to handle anything alone if you feel like you're overwhelmed."

"You know how often I've said that and she ignores me?" Shalltear adds while sliding behind me. Her arms leave my shoulders as she pushes me gently forward so that I tumble into Aura but she keeps pushing until I'm on top of her. Aura is just as surprised as I am by the sudden move but she has little time to react when Shalltear pushes me downwards so that we're pressed against each other. I try to say something and turn my head but both actions are cut off by Shalltear when she says, "The difference between you and I when it comes to making her do anything is that you can make her submit in a way that she accepts and even wants... I know she'll never admit that-"

Aura seizes my head with both hands and pulls me into smothering kisses. There's a strange taste to her tongue and lips that I start to identify but slowly lose the ability to identify. Each moment of affection makes thinking slower and emotions easier to indulge. A warm haze of happy thoughts melts away all of the stress and I couldn't remember the last time I felt this untroubled. Memory is quickly lost as well, replaced by only this moment in time.

My right arm is pulled outwards but I barely register the movement. What I do register is the sudden flow of magic out of my exposed hand, a wave of relief flushing into my system from having access magic siphoned off. The relief is accompanied by pain when sharp teeth bite into my hand but with my dulled mind, the pain is negligible. Then I simply forget and focus back on Aura, kissing her in a growing frenzy of enhanced emotions.

She stops me suddenly, gasping for air as she pushes me away slightly. Before I can question what she's doing, she looks at Shalltear and says, "You have to tell him... I... I can't tell him... I don't dare to do it-"

"Tell me what?" I slur, my mouth feeling slightly numb. But whatever chemical is in my system is quickly wearing off and as I look over at Shalltear covered in blood from chin to chest, her gaze lowers slightly when she meets my eyes. She takes a few moments to collect her thoughts before saying while looking downwards, "Your body has stopped growing... and the magical sack inside your chest has matured... you collect so much raw magical energy that, if left unchecked, it will tear you apart from the inside out... because you're only half Primordial with the organ of a pure Primordial... that's why Aura and I were selected to be your caretakers after Demiurge did his full spectrum scans... Aura has been using her Breath Control to regulate your body chemistry and I've been absorbing excess magic to stabilize the flow... all on Lord Ainz's order..."

"That's why I need you both still..." I reply sadly, both of them startled by the words. I watch them look at each other and then back at me as Aura asks in bewilderment, "You knew all this time!?"

"Not all that time... Lord Ainz told me a lot of things while I was with the Pleiades... and I didn't believe half of what was said... but then he told me to wait for everything to be revealed as truth..." I say as I look at Shalltear but her reaction is unexpected. She looks at me with a content smile while crossing the space between us, gently taking my head in her hands to receive kisses. There is no sense of frenzy or lust but the moment only lasts for a few seconds. She whispers while staring at me, "That was the last secret... I think we're out of things to hide-"

Aura move's her hands away and seizes my head in retort, turning it back towards her. She has the same look of relief as Shalltear but with an overwhelming frenzy as well. Even though she whispers, she still snaps at me in frustration, "If everything is fine then don't leave me half-finished!"

"One second," I reply as I gesture with my left hand towards Shalltear. Some of the shadows in my left eye slide down my cheek towards my outstretched hand, swirling along my skin and scales to rapidly grow from my fingertips. I feel my mind expand and shift until I can see with two pairs of eyes, feel with two bodies, and think with two minds. As Shalltear stares at me with a mix of surprise and apprehension, the I in the background finally gives in to Aura's desires.

I turn to watch myself and feel strange watching from the outside while feeling every action performed. Shalltear snaps me out of my stupor by biting into my left shoulder lightly, drawing blood but not as much as usual. She pulls away with a more inquisitive expression, tilting her head as she says, "The taste is the same... the flesh and scales feel the same... body heat feels the same... but I just saw you form from a mass of shadow matter..."

"Shadow cloning," I interject while getting a firm hold on her hips, lifting her effortlessly and bringing her into my lap. She wraps herself around me with a happy sigh, pushing herself into me while pushing her left cheek against mine. The moment is short-lived because she calmly states, "The extra stimulus is very painful-"

"Very..." I reply quickly as I try to keep my interactions with Shalltear slow and easier to manage. Shalltear pulls slightly away from me and places her right hand against the side of my head. I barely feel the magic she uses because the sensation is eclipsed by my mind being hurled back into one body. I'm rendered dumb for a few seconds as I try to process too many extra sensations but after a few more seconds, I snap back into heavy awareness crashing down on me.

Aura pulls me into a smothering kiss. It's all she needs to do to push me over the edge, my body doing exactly what she wants. We both emit a muffled moan as the heavier weight of conclusion pushes us both onto the bedding, my body slowly sagging from exhaustion and stimulus. Suddenly, I lose all of my strength and fall on top of her, her hands guiding my head over her shoulders as she whispers, "Relax... don't push yourself so much..."

"I always feel like... I'm not enough..." I whisper, my mouth finding it hard to form words. I feel my body slide onto my left side and two pairs of arms embrace my chest and shoulders. Cold rubs against my back while warmth embraces my front. My eyes, already half open with blurring vision, finally close even though I'm trying to stay awake. An exhausted smile crosses my face because when I hear voices, I know for certain that it isn't my imagination.

"We'll take care of you..."